How to Cook Like an Adult: A Few Tips

Cooking well in college doesn’t need to be hard, or expensive! There are a few tips to keep in mind that can make your dinners better, your shopping runs cheaper, and increase your overall level of foody awesomeness. Let’s get started!

First, before you cook anything – figure out your grocery store run. Google a few recipe ideas if you’re struggling to figure out what to cook. Always make a list, especially if you head to the store when you’re hungry – that way you won’t overbuy.

Next, choose your grocery. If you’re into buying organic or normally like to cook a certain type of food, consider specialty stores. In general, I like to try and plan out the week if I’m going to be fairly busy, and stick to simpler meals for lunch during the middle of the day. Building up a stock of general spices, as well as staples like sugar, eggs, milk, bread, and butter is also important, as these ingredients will be much more versatile than you think.

Now onto the fun part – cooking your amazing meal. Keep in mind that becoming a decent cook is only as hard as following directions in a recipe. There are some techniques that take time to learn, but for the most part, following directions step by step and making sure that the proportions of ingredients are right will result in some pretty great results!

Finally, enjoy yourself. The process of cooking should be just as enjoyable as actually eating. If you’re not enjoying the cooking, other parts of working in the kitchen (like doing the dishes) might be a little much.

If you’re trying to take it to the next level, consider buying a few herbs and starting an herb garden in your apartment or house – herbs require fairly little upkeep, its a conversation starter, and they add a great deal of flavor to all of your recipes!

That’s all for now – Fight on!

-Naish

About the Author

Naish is a Senior studying Aerospace Engineering. He’s a pilot, and will talk with you for as long as you want about planes (and other stuff too).